


The Oasis

by Bonymaloney



Category: The Aquabats! Super Show!
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Hair Kink, Light Angst, M/M, Robot Feels, Smooching, Stargazing, kidnapping mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-08-24 01:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16630181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonymaloney/pseuds/Bonymaloney
Summary: The sky above his head was filled with beautiful stars, and the air was so warm and clear that it magnified them somehow, made it seem as though Jimmy could reach out and touch them. The thought made him anxious, and after a moment he realised why - it reminded him of flickering LEDs set in battered old ceiling panels directly above his head, of thinking he’d never see the sky again...





	1. Chapter 1

The Battletram surged across the desert, sand billowing in its wake. The Commander laughed as he saw the huge dust cloud, orangey-red against the blue sky. Loud horns blared from the stereo, and he punched the air in time with the music. The desert was beautiful, and he was awesome, and best of all, beside him in the passenger seat was

“Jimmy! Yeah!”

He crowed triumphantly. He’d danced his butt off, taken on five admittedly small men, and when he’d whipped out his magical horn those little suckers hadn’t known what hit them. And now, with Jimmy by his side, he was invincible. 

The Robot was looking good, smiling away to himself with that cute, gentle grin as he settled into the upholstery and fiddled with his controls. It just felt so right having him there. And the alternative didn’t bear thinking about! The idea of those blue eyes dimmed, those super skilful fingers taken apart... it was horrible!

The battletram swerved, and Jimmy grabbed at the dashboard. 

“Commander, you need to keep your eyes on the road,” he chided, and the Commander pouted. 

“Where we’re going we don’t need roads, bro!” he quipped, but Jimmy just gave him a knowing look.

“Sir, when was the last time you had something to eat?”

“I had a slushi at the gas station, when I was setting off to find you.”

“That’s not very much.”

“Yeah, but they say you shouldn’t fight on a full stomach. Might get a cramp under your chin.”

“That’s swimming... anyway, you look like you need a rest.”

The Commander whined. “I feel great! Besides, if we drive all night we’ll be back in town by morning, we can track down Bones and then there’s only Crash and Ricky to go!”

Truth be told, the adrenaline rush from finding Jimmy and saving Jimmy was starting to wear off a little. It was only late afternoon, but men of action didn’t do things by the clock, after all. And a nap was starting to sound pretty good. 

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But you gotta cook me something.”

He put his pajamas on, and Jimmy heated him up a can of franks and beans. It was the kind of stuff he’d been eating when he was by himself, but for some reason it tasted better when someone else cooked it for you. After he ate, Jimmy tucked him in, and the last thing he heard was the soft double clap as the Robot turned out the lights.

Aquabanians were social creatures, and while the Bat Commander was way too cool to be lonely, he’d been without his homies for longer than he cared to think about. Eating alone, singing alone, sleeping alone... he’d been stressed and tired on a deep level that didn’t even really register until it was suddenly gone. Now Jimmy was back, and his bunk was cosy... The Commander’s limbs felt like lead, dragging him down into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

He awoke hours later, thirsty and somehow less rested than he had been before. The tram interior was dark, and he was confused and achy. He’d saved Jimmy, but where was the Robot now? He didn’t seem to be anywhere on board, and the Commander started to worry. 

What if that move with the horn had been a mistake? Those little punks could have followed them, waiting for their chance to steal Jimmy back. He was obviously valuable, although the Commander could have told them that from the start. What if he’d slept so deeply he’d managed to sleep right through their fiendish crime? What if Jimmy was alone and scared and being taken apart right at that very moment...

Panicking, he stumbled to the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Jimmy was so happy he felt as though he might be glowing. He smiled as he closed the door quietly behind him, thinking of the Commander in his pajamas, warm and comfortable in his bed. 

He wandered through the tram in something of a daze, trailing his fingers across doors and panels he thought he’d never touch again. His first thought was that he ought to recharge, but he’d been powered down for so long that he was restless. Stretching his legs, he stepped down from the tram onto the rough desert sand. 

The sky above his head was filled with beautiful stars, and the air was so warm and clear that it magnified them somehow, made it seem as though Jimmy could reach out and touch them. The thought made him anxious, and after a moment he realised why - it reminded him of flickering LEDs set in battered old ceiling panels directly above his head, of thinking he’d never see the sky again...

A satellite cruised smoothly by overhead, breaking the optical illusion. Grateful, he sent her the electronic equivalent of a wave, smiling when he received a chipper line of code in response. He stretched his arms out above his head and just stood for a while. His father had built him tall, and it was wonderful to be free from confinement. Jimmy had thought he’d never see his parents again, or his friends... or the Commander.

For the longest time he’d found the Commander frustrating, and truth be told, that was often still the case. He was rash, impulsive - as a case in point, he’d decided to try and rescue Jimmy with no better plan than an impromptu dance contest. And then the Commander had staked his only home against the life of his friend. His enthusiasm, his whole-hearted generosity... he twisted Jimmy’s internal sensors in a way that he didn’t have the vocabulary to describe. And he had beautiful green eyes, and legs that sometimes filled Jimmy’s head with very striking images when he was by himself in his lab at night. 

He’d never acted on his feelings. The Commander had never shown any sign that he would be interested in a Robot as more than a friend, and the risk of disrupting their team dynamic, occasionally dysfunctional as it was, was too great. But that didn’t mean his heart didn’t swell with joy when he thought of the Commander, sleeping soundly after his heroic rescue. The Commander had saved him, and now he was home. 

Jimmy settled back, leaning into the battered side panel of the Battletram, letting the solid weight of it ground him. He breathed deeply, tasting the ions of the salt flats and the molecules of scent from the cactus flowers. Whatever happened with the Aquabats, he was lucky to be alive.

His reverie was interrupted when the door beside him burst open. The Commander staggered out, looking wildly around him. 

“Jimmy!” he exclaimed, and then he turned. He swallowed, and Jimmy could see the physical effort it took him to get his emotions under control. His mask and helmet were askew, revealing a few glimpses of dishevelled brown hair, and although Jimmy hated the fact that the Commander was distressed, a small part of him couldn’t help but think how lovely he looked. 

“Hey, man,” he said with a forced casual air. “Just checking out the desert, huh?”

“Just looking at the stars,” Jimmy agreed, and patted the sand beside him. He felt the Commander’s hand slip into his own and gave him a comforting squeeze. 


	3. Chapter 3

The Commander felt the tension leave his body as he settled into place beside Jimmy. Ever since the band had drifted apart, things hadn’t been right, and it shouldn’t have taken Jimmy almost dying for him to do something about it. But now, with the solid physical presence of the Robot by his side, he felt his usual self confidence returning. Tracking down the other guys was gonna be a cinch. He sighed, and rested his head against Jimmy’s shoulder. 

“...she’s streaming the Cardinals game right now, we could listen to that if you like. Then up there, further on the right, that’s Mars. And the big pale stripe behind it all is...”

The Commander zoned out, comforted by Jimmy’s voice, the soft clicks of his inner mechanism and the whirring as he moved his head. The night breeze was cool, but Jimmy was warm; and he slipped his arm around the Robot’s thick waist, so awesome for hugs. He was back, he was _safe_ , thanks to the Commander’s epic leadership and dancefloor skills, and he was...

“Commander, are you even listening to me?”

He sounded hurt. 

“I was forced offline and stuck in a scrap transport, and even before then we hadn’t seen each other for months. And now you’re not even paying attention!”

The Commander stumbled over his words. 

“Dude, it’s not like that! I missed you so bad, you don’t even know... I just...”

Jimmy turned to face him, and as their eyes met he realised quite how close together they were. For all that the Robot liked to pretend that he didn’t feel things, his facial expressions were usually pretty easy to read, but right now the Commander was genuinely confused by the look on his face. He just had time to think how rad his eyes were, glowing in the desert night, when Jimmy leaned in and... 

What the wha-! Jimmy had leaned in and pressed his lips to the Commander’s own, a gentle but precise kiss. Which was exactly how the Commander would imagine Jimmy might kiss, which he hadn’t, ok?! Not often, anyway. Although it was hard not to sometimes - the way Jimmy used his mouth and his hands when he was playing saxophone could give a man quite un-Commanderly thoughts. 

The Robot was peering at him cautiously, and the Commander made up his mind. He had to act fast.


	4. Chapter 4

Jimmy immediately regretted his harsh choice of words. The Commander _had_ stopped listening, there was no doubt about that, but it was clearly not due to idle distraction. The Commander was nestled close into his side, like they were two parts of a whole. One look at his tired eyes and his unshaven face was enough to show how much stress he’d been under, without Jimmy there to support him. His pupils were large and dark, and his lips looked so soft...

Jimmy couldn’t help himself. He wanted to comfort the Commander, to apologise for misjudging the situation, to reassure him that he could nap in his arms forever as far as Jimmy was concerned...

And he really, _really_ wanted to kiss him. They were alone under a dark starry sky, with the desert and the Battletram entirely to themselves. Jimmy was filled with the elation that came from knowing he was alive when he should be in pieces, and the Commander was the hero who had saved the day. All available data indicated that the situation was nothing short of optimal. 

The Commander’s lips were soft and a little dry. Jimmy held the kiss for a moment then pulled back, observing the Commander’s face closely for his reaction. He was quiet for an uncharacteristically long time, and then he dived forwards. The second kiss was deep and sloppy, with the Commander clinging tight to Jimmy’s waist. Jimmy brought his hand up to cup his face, then let his fingers slide up under his helmet, rubbing the thick soft hair gently between his fingers. 

The Commander’s response was electric. He gasped against Jimmy’s mouth, freezing for a moment before ducking his head bashfully. His cheeks were flushed, and he seemed rather scandalised. 

“Dude, I had no idea you’d be so kinky... I kinda like it.” He shifted against Jimmy until they were cuddled together again. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this, Robot,” he sighed. 

Jimmy was nonplussed. “That doesn’t sound like you, Sir. If you don’t mind me saying, you tend to act on your impulses.”

“Yeah, but there’s limits, you know? Homies don’t hit on homies that don’t wanna be hit on.”

“Well, I _did_ want to be hit on.”

“We should have been having this conversation, like, a bajillion years ago, am I right? Only I’m a wuss about this stuff and you think about things too much.”

“That’s... accurate.”

The Commander thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Welp, no time like the present! C’mere.” He swung his leg across Jimmy’s lap so that he was kneeling, straddling him, with his hands braced against the Battletram on either side of Jimmy’s head. With a mischievous grin, he pressed light kisses to Jimmy’s forehead, his cheeks, then his lips again. He stroked Jimmy’s shoulder and the side of his neck, before trailing his hand lower, caressing the front of his rash guard. He ran his finger around the logo, tracing the edge of his standby button. Jimmy let out a shivery moan, and the Commander raised his eyebrows. 

“You like that?”

“It’s the places where I’m organic and then I’m... not organic.” The concept was difficult to express, especially when his head was swimming the way it was. “It’s vulnerable, so it’sssssensitive oh gosh.” 

“The ol’ on-off switch, huh?” Jimmy knew that the Commander couldn’t resist a button to save his life, and he waggled his eyebrows as he ran his finger across it a few more times, before suddenly pausing.

“Hey, how come they shut you off?”

Jimmy had a sudden memory of the back of the scrap van, cramped and hot and dusty. He shuddered, and smiled grimly. “I think I was making them feel bad about their life choices.”

The Commander’s face fell. 

“I almost... I shoulda...” 

He leaned into Jimmy, hiding his face against his neck, and Jimmy could feel him trembling. He wrapped his arms right around the Commander’s back and they clung together, so close that it was hard to tell who was comforting who. The sense of sheer _rightness_ that only came with fulfilling a directive flooded through him. It was a directive he’d chosen for himself, not long after he’d first met the Commander.

“You did it,” he murmured. “I’m right here.”

They kissed again, slow and deep, and Jimmy could taste the chloride and protein of tears on his lips. He let his fingers slide up the back of the Commander’s neck, under his helmet, until they were twined in his hair. The Commander groaned and pressed against him harder. He dragged his lips teasingly along his jawline, right where his mandible fused with his skin. His mouth was hot and so soft, his stubble prickling as he pressed kisses, with the occasional graze of his teeth that sent shocks of delight straight to Jimmy’s spine. Helpless with pleasure, he tipped his head back to allow the Commander easier access, leaving him staring up at the sky. The stars seemed a little too close again, but with the Battletram against his back, the night breeze on his skin, and the delicious warmth of the Commander in his lap, Jimmy decided he didn’t care if they were real or not. 


End file.
